Saturday, June 27, 2009

ScienceDaily (June 13, 2009) — In a discovery that could lead to new treatment approaches for depression, researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have shown that Internet-based therapy programs are as effective as face-to-face therapies in combating the illness.

Patients in a clinician-assisted Internet-based treatment program experienced rates of recovery similar to those achieved by face-to-face therapy, the research found.

Moreover, the program – dubbed the Sadness program – required an average of only 111 minutes of clinician email contact per person over an eight-week period, significantly less than other comparable clinician-based therapies.

A paper outlining the study appears this week in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatr

Like the rest of the world, I was stunned at the death of Michael Jackson this past week. Then again, maybe not. I mean, he was kind of mess, really, with the disfiguring scars of his many plastic surgeries, and the obvious emotional traumas of his childhood that were still being played out well into his middle-age.

Sunday, June 07, 2009

By CONSTANT BRAND and ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writers Constant Brand And

Robert Wielaard, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 25 mins ago

BRUSSELS – Conservatives raced toward victory in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as initial results and exit polls showed voters punishing left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and elsewhere.

Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus amid the global economic crisis.

First projections by the European Union showed center-right parties would have the most seats — between 263 and 273 — in the 736-member parliament. Center-left parties were expected to get between 155 to 165 seats.

Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain.

Greece was a notable exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes.